Australia is known to have some of the worst Bush Fires / Wild Fires prone
country in the world! Due to
our extreme weather conditions it is not uncommon for us to have Wild Fires
every fire season which are started by a wide variety of causes. They can be
attributed to natural causes such as lightning strikes and accidental causes such
as sparks from farm machinery, incinerators, power lines, vehicle crashes,
escapes from burning off and camp fires. Unfortunately, a large number of bush
fires are also deliberately lit.

One useful indicator that can aid forecasters and fire fighter organisations
such as the NSW Rural Fire Service
determine the potential for bushfires is known as the
Haines Index.
Simply speaking it combines the dew point depression and atmospheric stability
as a means to determine the potential for fire plumes to become organised,
entrain dry oxygen rich air into the fire causing explosive plumes to erupt.
Also if cumulus clouds known as
pyrocumulus develop above the fires, downdrafts from these plumes may create
erratic winds as well as another source of oxygen rich air to descend in the
vicinity of the fire. The result is the increasing efficiency for fires to
spread. What the
Haines Index does not take into account are amount of fuel available, wind
patterns and topography. All of these factors should be considered by
forecasters before determining the potential for bushfire hazards.